Monthly Archives: August 2011

The Ma.K starfighter contest is yielding some amazing entries. Even though we can’t feature them all, a few stand out that we don’t want our readers to miss. While Fredoichi‘s entry might not do especially well at high speeds in an atmosphere, his airplane doors at odd angles, minifig helmets as vents, and every curvy piece imaginable capture the Maschinen Krieger aesthetic perfectly.

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We’ve spent quite a bit of time in the small dog area at the park lately with Josie and our new pug Ollie, who’s doing his best to set himself apart from the distinguished life and career of the late, great Mr. Pugsly. I’ve seen more chihuahuas in the last few weeks than I’d seen for years before, so I can testify to the absolute accuracy of this wonderful pup by edulyoung — from the perky ears and shiny little bug eyes to the tiny stick legs.

The original (non-LEGO) Robie House was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and built in 1910, 25 years before Fallingwater. Designer Adam Reed Tucker’s LEGO version is built from 2276 bricks and costs $199.99.

The Brandenburg Gate in Berlin was built in Berlin between 1788 and 1791. The LEGO version has 363 pieces, including quite a nice batch of sand-green cheese slopes, and goes for $34.99.

There is also free shipping on orders over $75!

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LEGO announced a contest for fans in the United Kingdom, Germany and the United States. The purpose of the contest is to design a stamp that will be included with the holiday catalog. Fifty finalists will win the latest addition to the Winter Village series, 10222 Winter Village Post Office.

Press Release:

LEGO is asking consumers ages 6 + to design a LEGO themed postage stamp to be featured in the Late Holiday Catalogue .

For each country there will be 50 finalists selected to receive a copy of 10222. 25 will be for ages 6-14 and 25 will be from ages 15 & up. From the 50 finalists, 1 grand prize winner will be selected per country. In addition to a copy of 10222 – Winter Village Post Office, grand prize winners will have their stamp design featured on the late holiday catalog for their country along with a professionally designed and framed LEGO mosaic of their design.

Where: The US/UK/Germany. These are the only countries that mail a late holiday catalogue

When: We will be accepting entries for the contest September 1-30 and selecting the finalists & winners for each country the first week of October.

How: Consumers must simply visit shop.LEGO.com/Design-Challenge (Germany: shop.LEGO.com/Designwettbewerb) to download the official entry form. They or their parent/guardian must complete the form and email it along with their stamp design to the email address designated for their country. No purchase is required and there will be no physical entries collected.

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There was a time when LEGO released books of ideas, when trains were a flagship property, when a LEGO license was something you used to drive at LEGOland. That time was the 80s and that time produced 7777. But it was not a perfect time. We now have new parts, new colours, new techniques, and 7777 looks dated. But the idea (pardon the pun) was good. Let’s make it better.

In LEGO Train MOCs we run semi-regular contests and challenges. This time we’re inviting all AFOLs to play. The challenge is to create a new version of 7777 ideas book with prizes for those deemed best and most 7777-like. As a twist we won’t be allowing locomotive engines.

This contest differs a little from regular LEGO contests: rather than giving prizes to the best entry we will be assessing entries on how well they would fit in a new version of 7777. This means models should be kept relatively simple, bonus points will be awarded for instructions and scenes, and we won’t be looking for exact replicas of obscure trains.

So if you love trains, if you love town, or if you just love LEGO and a new challenge we’d love to see what you can do. You don’t even need a single train wheel or track to play. Just bricks and a creative mind.

Closing date: All entries must be in by midnight 31st30th November on the east side of the date line. If your clock says Nov 30th you’ll be fine.

Rules: There are no hard and fast rules (other than the closing date) however there are judging criteria so if you want a chance of winning you should meet as many of them as possible. We also expect no more than three entries (one is fine) per person. Further entries may be allowed with prior arrangement.

Entering: To enter the contest you must join the 7777 Redux group on flickr and post your entry in the entries thread. If you do not wish to join flickr contact me (Tim G) privately and we may come to an arrangement.

Judging criteria:

Model must have 7777ness

Either looks like something that is in 7777 (please refer to the page number)

or Looks like something that should be in 7777

But must not be a locomotive!

Clarity of constructions

Must provide at least one breakdown shot/instruction snippet

Bonus points in judging for full instructions or comprehensive breakdowns.

Bonus points awarded for background scenes and minifigs and action

Models should ideally by completely new. Models may feature old work provided the rest is substantially new.

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Sandy (AKA Rythmik♫) has built a gunblade that is to die for…or die by. Either way, it has a very sleek, elegant look to it and the pendent gives it that sought after “I’ll kill you but feel bad about it after” vibe that so many people strive for but seldom achieve.

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If any of you get that reference without looking it up, I’ll be shocked. Regardless, Chris Malloy considerably raised the bar in Forbidden Cove’s Seedpart challenge with this piratical sculpture. Chris is one of my favorite builders out there and he hit this one out of the park. Malloy definitely has skillz!

The toothy grin on the nose is evocative of paint schemes sported by Allied World War II squadrons flying the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk, but the addition of troll arms makes this a hilariously whimsical aircraft.

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This curvy fighter by Mark Stafford is quite the heart stopper. The black and yellow stripes contrast beautifully with the red-tipped prongs, but what impresses me most is all the shininess — not something you necessarily notice in a lot of LEGO models.

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Eli Carter (retracile) from TexLUG launched a business to make custom Lego nameplates. Simply enter the text and select a color scheme and you’re on your way to getting a kit that includes instructions and all the bricks to make the nameplate. The nameplate below with 10 characters will run $120, but keep in mind that a lot of time goes into assembling each order and the bricks themselves aren’t cheap. Check out BrickBuiltNamePlates.com to see what your name looks like in Lego.

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As the recent discussion on our post about the new Series 5 Collectible Minifigures proves, it’s pretty hard to identify the minifigs using any but the “touch and feel” method. Thankfully, SEALUG / TexLUG member Jason Junker has put together this handy guide to find the minifigs you want by touch.

Small Clown: His bowler hat feels similar to the Detective’s hat. He also has a pie, which feels smaller than I thought it would. (that’s what she said) [Tee hee! -ed] Each time I confirmed by feeling for the short legs.

Boxer: The surprise here is that his boxing gloves are attached to his hands. He’s one of the hardest to feel if you don’t know this little fact. Also feel for the gap in his face guard. (Thanks for the “attached gloves tip” W. Heron)

Royal Guard: 2 words, HUGE hat. And feel for the rifle to confirm.

Lumberjack: The only “baseball cap” in this series. The axe is easily recognizable. But be sure that you feel the attached axe head on the end, or it could be the Evil Dwarf’s axe handle.

Zookeeper: I expected the monkey to be easy to feel, but the banana is the dead give away here. No other pieces feel anything like it.

Graduate: He’s the only fig with a 2×2 tile (certificate, like “Disco Guy’s” record from S2), and his graduation cap is what I used to confirm. It’s square, with 1 different feeling corner for the tassel and a little raised bump in the middle of the top.

Cave Woman: The only fig with a squishy element this time. Her hair. Feel for the bone separately, and the club is the same as the S1 Cave Man’s. (Thanks for the “squishy hair tip” W. Heron)

Snowboarder Guy: Just like the last 2 snowboarders, the snowboard is a dead giveaway.

Detective: His hat is double billed, so feel for both sides, or it could be the Small Clown. I felt for the magnifying glass to confirm.

Egyptian Queen: Huge wedge dress, and snake are easy to feel.

Ice Fisherman: The fish, and fishing pole are the giveaway here, just like the last 2 series fisherman/gnome.

Evil Dwarf: The winged helmet is bulky, but so are the pieces for the Royal Guard & Gladiator, so I felt around for 1 of the 2 detached axe blades, or the handle. The difference in the shield between the Gladiator’s is that the front of the Evil Dwarf’s is smooth.

Gladiator: He has a huge bulky helmet, but he’s also the only fig with a knife/sword. It’s shorter than I expected. (That’s what… never mind) The difference in the shield between the Evil Dwarf’s is that the front of the Gladiator’s has a stud.

Gangster: This fig has the smallest accessory, his pistol. I also felt his hat, it’s he same as the Cowboy’s from S1 or Indiana Jones’. I never once knowingly felt his case.

Fitness Instructor: Big long hair, and the “boom box” feels like a brick with a handle (just like the Rapper’s from S3)

Lizard Guy: Last but not least, the one I was most excited about, and will be the first one I open… His tail was what I ended up feeling for. It’s a very large piece that fits under his head like a backpack, so you can feel for that tab with the hole in it as well.

Jason rightly says that it’s helpful to have a good picture in front of you, so here it is: